Types Of Whip Wheels

The ship’s wheel is a great innovation that replaced the whip staff that dominated ships for many decades. The invention of the ship wheel had a rocky start, but it was still better than the whip staff. Nowadays it is impossible for one to picture a ship without the ship wheel. Also, the ship wheel is a common symbol of the nautical culture, and with good reason. It is no wonder that there exists a lot of model ship’s wheels for the nautical collector. There are many different kinds of ship’s wheels that can be used for nautical enthusiasts collection needs, and this article will examine a few.

The wooden ship wheel is made from the highest quality of woods – shisham. Shisham is a wood that is similar in appearance and quality to teak. This makes it able to weather the toughest of conditions, and ensures a long life for your wooden ship wheel. Featuring six spokes, this fifteen inch ship wheel is manufactured by plugged screw heads, and features a solid brass center. It weighs a light five pounds and makes a great addition to that empty space on your wall.

A smaller, but equality quality iteration of the ship wheel is the wooden ship wheel clock. This type of ship wheel is practical, and makes an excellent clock that exudes a nautical sense of style. This can go anywhere in your home an manage to fit in with the decor, not just in your nautical themed room. Just as the one before it, the wooden ship wheel clock is made from the hardwood shisham. The center of the ship wheel is solid brass which surrounds a working clock which is five inches in diameter. This is a great gift for the nautical lover in your life, or for anyone in general.

There are many different types of ship’s wheels in addition to the ones mentioned here. The ship wheel is a great innovation that went through a few phases to reach the modern day ones that you see now. However, in the beginning the ship’s wheel was a bit different. For instance, originally ship’s wheels were very problematic and even led to many fatal accidents. The earliest ship wheels sat behind the mizzen mast and tended to get in the way of the helmsman’s line of sight. Not a good indication of a quality design. Also, when under brutal conditions, the ships wheel could be operated by two men, but they didn’t have enough room to maneuver properly. Not until several years later were two wheels included to allow for even more men to help steer should the need arise.

What’s more, the early types of ship wheels were plagued by unequal ends of the tiller rope. This made it so when the rope were hauled to one side, the center line of the ship would become distorted. This problem was attempted to be remedied with objects to hold it in place, but nothing was effective. The rope would become either too tight or too slack. These early wheels caused many fatalities and accidents. It wasn’t until Pollard came about with a new innovation that changed the way the ship wheel functioned.